My Humble Request

Chicago is the only place I've ever known where people wear the city flag on their skin, fly it proudly from their porches, and deck themselves out head-to-toe in local swag. This is the Windy City. The City of Broad Shoulders. The Third Coast. This is the heartbeat of the Midwest, the center of the continent, and America's city. This is the city that makes no little plans.

My goal as a fiscally responsible, socially liberal Democratic candidate is not to convince anyone to agree with 100% of my ideas or positions. In fact, I hope that by outlining my vision for the future of Chicago and my administration as mayor, you will have the ability to learn about my positions such that you can make a well-informed choice when you vote on February 23rd, 2027.

No candidate for mayor of Chicago's long and storied history has taken the time to write a plan for all to see: to scrutinize, engage with, and dare I say, to catalyze and dream about a better Chicago. To inspire the change we need to ensure the success of our city for the next 250 years and beyond, ¹ we need open, transparent dialogue. We need a plan, not empty promises. We cannot risk voting for and installing a mayor whose words and rhetoric mask their underlying plans (or lack thereof).

My humble hope is that this book sets a new standard such that we - as people of this city - should expect and demand candidates present their ideas clearly and resolutely to be read, contemplated, debated, and discussed. The stakes are too high, the city's future too bright, and the status quo politics too opaque and corrupted not to expect candidates to show themselves fully and plainly for all to see. This expectation raises the bar of the city's discourse, the electorate's knowledge, and foments the durability of our city and local democracy.

You deserve a candidate that you believe will represent you, your family, and our city's needs. No mayor nor publicly elected leader can or should strive to be all things for all people. Any candidate claiming they are the answer to all problems should be viewed skeptically and cautiously - the veneer of their words will be as thin as their substance. Similarly, no voter should have the unrealistic expectation of finding a perfect candidate that they agree with 100% of the time. This only sets up the elected individual and the citizen to disappoint and be frustrated with one another. We should instead aim to meet in the middle, problem-solve together, enhance our shared positions, and engage in healthy discourse, debate, and compromise as we pull each other forward through our collective efforts.

My goal as mayor is to do as much as humanly possible to advance as many Chicagoans' lives as possible. I will undoubtedly fall short of this aspiration from time to time, but I will serve and place the people of Chicago first - foremost above my own interests, above the special interests that seek to gain favor, and above the trappings and pitfalls of power. I believe I will steadfastly be a sound and faithful public servant to this great city and its people. To this end, there is no higher calling than to serve and I will demand of myself more than anyone else in pursuit of the advancement of our people and our city.

We need a mayor with a plan and a vision that centers around problem solving and putting people, not politics, first. Chicago is at a crucial pivot point in its history and the next mayor must strive to unite and bring people together instead of divide and isolate us from one another. 2026 marks the 250th birthday of the United States and as the next mayor's administration starts in 2027 the city will turn 190 years old, just 10 years shy of its own 200th anniversary. At this pivotal juncture, a core thesis of our campaign is that Chicago represents the American Dream - with all its strengths and pitfalls. But we are currently facing internal systematic threats—from broken budgets to failing education—and external threats—from political attacks and the strip mining of federal resources to broader national and international challenges. It is our challenge to ensure that Chicago remains a place where one can realize their dreams instead of getting trapped in an American Nightmare alternative reality.

Chicago has been here before and has a long history of building and progress against all odds - just as I have throughout my life as you'll come to know. When our back is against the wall, the only option is to problem solve and aim for success no matter what the challenges of the day present. There is no other choice.

For a major city, we've had the great fortune of reasonable affordability for decades and yet through a mixture of forces and actions taken by elected leaders and the political class, we've started to see that genuine affordability that was the backbone of a healthy economy and a solid middle class life disappear. If we lose our ability to innovate, to problem solve, to build, and to grow, we will lose the characteristics that have made Chicago what it is today. As such, we cannot afford to maintain the political status quo and it's time to replace parochial, insider politics. It's time to build Chicago with common sense and move on from the insider political class that has brought us to the current moment we find ourselves in. It's time to write Chicago's next chapter and work on advancing the city and its people. It's time for politics to put people first, not use people to achieve political ends. It's time to solidify people's ability to reach the American Dream, the Chicago Dream.